Mr. Franken Comes to Washington

[MadBadger]

Al Franken (D-Minn.) will spend the next two days in Washington readying himself to serve in the Senate, a move that comes even as the contested Minnesota Senate election plods on. Franken arrives in town tonight and will be here through Thursday for a visit aimed at "preparing him for the Senate, both in terms of policy and in terms of familiarizing himself with the institution of the Senate and how it operates," said a source familiar with the trip's itinerary.

Franken's meeting schedule over the next 48 hours includes sitdowns with current Senate staffers, people involved with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former Hill staffers including the late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone's senior policy adviser.

Former Sen. Norm Coleman (R) will also be in town tomorrow for a fundraiser at the National Republican Senatorial Committee designed to raise cash to continue to fund his election contest.

The dueling trips come just days after Franken sat for an interview with the Associated Press in which he acknowledged being "frustrated" with the election contest process, which is now in its third week, but added: "What is in my control is to prepare so that when I get to the Senate, I'm ready to go on day one."

As Franken prepared to come to Washington, the three judge state panel charged with overseeing the election challenge brought by Coleman charging significant irregularities in a recount process that ended with Franken leading by 225 votes.
Earlier today, the panel ruled that 25 voters could have their previously rejected absentee ballots counted -- a decision that both sides praised although, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the majority of the ballots are from Franken supporters.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2009/02/mr_franken_comes_to_washington.html

"Al Franken could live up to his word of wanting to count every vote if he would tell his supporters that the full lot of 12,000 -- not just his list of cherry-picked ballots -- should be examined so we make sure that all valid are votes counted," said Coleman campaign manager Cullen Sheehan in the wake of the ruling.Senate Republicans continue to maintain that any attempt to seat Franken before the election contest is formally resolved will be met with a filibuster so the Democrat's latest trip to Washington isn't likely to end with him taking the oath of office. But, it's a symbolic step to show Minnesota voters that Franken is doing what he needs to do to be ready to serve if and when he is formally declared the winner

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. We can certainly take comfort in one part of this:

The stupid motherfuckers who are Senate Republicans can keep up their stunts and threats, for every day they do, more people in Minnesota, where the phrase "Minnesota Nice" is the way they live, will be getting more and more disgusted with repukes in general.

And if they keep it up, some Minnesotans could go to Washington and force-feed them repukes with Lutefisk. That'll sort their sorry asses out! ;-)

[Winterblues]

2. Count every VALID vote

Not a bunch of invalidated votes that have been rejected twice now for no signature or unreadable signatures. All VALID votes must be counted and be counted by a human being.

[pacalo]

3. Coleman continues to show Minnesotans why he didn't deserve their votes.

How selfish of him to drag this out in the courts, especially considering the statement he made the morning after about Franken "doing the right thing".

The WaPo writer has me on the edge of my seat with this unfinished sentence:

As Franken prepared to come to Washington, the three judge state panel charged with overseeing the election challenge brought by Coleman charging significant irregularities in a recount process that ended with Franken leading by 225 votes (did what?).

(On edit, what the 3-judge state panel did is in the paragraph that followed the writer's incomplete sentence:

Earlier today, the panel ruled that 25 voters could have their previously rejected absentee ballots counted -- a decision that both sides praised although, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the majority of the ballots are from Franken supporters.)